Akai Tonbo The Red Dragonfly
by Aria DC al Fine
Summary: AU. What if Kanmuri's mother had died when he was really young, and Kanmuri had to be raised by his father...as a yakuza? Azuma/Kanmuri shounen ai in later parts
1. Prologue

A Yakitate Japan Fanfiction

Title: Akai Tonbo

Authoress: Aria DC al fine

Synopsis: AU. What if Shigeru had been raised by his father…as a yakuza? KazumaxShigeru shounen ai

Prologue

Two groups of men stood facing one another on the road behind downtown Shinjuku area, hands buried in pockets, gazes throwing daggers through black sunscreens, eyebrows twitching, jaws tightened, fierce expression etched on everyone's face. All were still until the leader of one of the groups, a long-haired man in black suit, grounded through his teeth. "Can you explain why the hell your gang hurt one of our brothers?" he asked in a low, malice-laced voice.

The leader of the opposite gang replied by spitting to the long-haired man's feet. "The bastard dared to enter our territory, that's why!"

A vein popped on the other leader's head. "As far as I know, Nakata Ward is our territory."

"That's where you're wrong!" The leader of the opposite gang growled, "Idiots!"

The mockery was the trigger. In an instance, everyone roared and lunged at each other, tackling enemies, punching and kicking anywhere they could reach. Skins were bruised, blood splattering against the walls.

Amidst the fighting scene, a posh red car screeched to a halt nearby, and a petite, kimono-clad figure stepped down from it. "Stop!" he shouted in a baritone, not-yet-matured voice as he tried to grab on to one of the member of the opposite gang, "The bosses can talk this out! There is no need for a fight!"

The gang member elbowed the figure out of the way and turned to him. "Are you fooling me?" he spat, "No need for a fight? Who are you, a sissy?"

The figure was sprawled to the ground due to the impact, his kimono slipping off one shoulder. As he rose back up to his feet, a large black cloud loomed over his head. His eyes were completely shadowed.

"You bastards..." he hissed in fury, "Who are you calling a sissy? Who do you take me for?"

The gang member squeaked in fear. Soon enough, many people noticed the figure's overwhelming presence, and stopped fighting. Everyone was looking at each other, afraid to move, when suddenly, a person noticed the tattoo on the figure's exposed right shoulder blade. "Guys…" He pointed, his whole body trembling, "we're…we're…finished…"

The others followed his line of sight and gasped. "My God!" The leader of the opposing gang exclaimed, "Pink hair…violet eyes…pale skin…small build…and the tattoo of a red dragonfly on his back…he…he..is…Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru(4), son of the boss of the Hashiguchi group!"

Many dropped to their knees in fear. "God!" they muttered through clattering teeth, "Please spare us!

The long-haired man in black suit bowed to Kanmuri. "Bocchan," he offered a hand. The pink-haired boy didn't even look at it, he pushed it away and took a few steps towards the gang member, who was cowering in fright. "You brainless savages," he said with such contempt and venom if words could kill his victim would have been dead, "If you want to be caught by the police so much I don't mind, you can continue indulging in this...primal animalistic behaviour. The thing is, Chichiue-sama(Father) is very concerned of each and every member of the Hashiguchi group, and if anyone is to be caught by the police," he leered at the men in his group, who dropped to the road and kowtowed straight away, "It will be troublesome for Chichiue-sama, though."

"Go-gomenasai, Bocchama!" The long-haired man said, and turned to others, "Everyone, apologize!"

"GOMENASAI, SHIGURE-BOCCHAMA!" they chorused.

The boy turned to his men and gave them a soft smile. Thinking they were forgiven, the men looked up at their young boss. "Bocchama…"

"If you understand, then disappear from my sight," he said in a tone of voice which betrayed his mask.

The men knocked their foreheads on the ground. "HAI!" They then scrambled off their feet and ran to their respective vehicles.

Kanmuri himself was strolling towards the red car he arrived in when one of the members of the opposing gang couldn't accept the turn of events and charged at the pink-haired boy from the back. "I can't accept this! It can't be over just like that!" he shouted as he held a short Japanese blade to Kanmuri's throat, "You Hashiguchi bastards, listen to what we say!"

"Shigeru-Bocchan!" many shouted, and got their own swords out of their pockets, knuckles white around the handles. "You scum! Release Shigeru-Bocchan!"

The boy in the core of the conflict sighed. "Remind me again why I despise idiots..." he muttered under his breath and shook his head.

"What?" The captor heard his captive and tightened his hold. "You-!" He raised his hand to plunge the blade to the boy.

Kanmuri made use of that moment where his captor lowered his defense to step on his feet and elbow his ribs with all his might. The two engaged in a struggle which left some cuts on Kanmuri's hands, but after Kanmuri retrieved a vial of blue liquid from the sleeve of his kimono and broke it on his captor's face, Kanmuri managed to snatch the sword as the man dropped to the ground.

"W-what was that?" he said as he tried to get pieces of glass off him.

An evil smirk graced the pretty boy's face as he pointed the cold blade that was previously pressed against his flesh in front of the man's own throat. "You'll find out…in hospital."

Then, as his men took care of the guy, Kanmuri returned to his car.

* * *

He didn't know what his fate was, but Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru was sure as hell NOT meant to be a yakuza.

Son of a wealthy mother who was temporarily enraptured by his father's yakuza ruggedness, Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru inherited more of his deceased mother's genes than his father. Kanmuri was definitely not a brainless thug, for one. His build was rather slender, his features delicate and almost pretty as a girl's and he was always pale no matter how long he had been exposed to the sun. He was stronger than your regular teenagers, though, a result of training in various martial arts, and apparently, much, much cleverer too.

With much struggle, Kanmuri managed to get his father to agree to his studying Life Science in Harvard from when he was 12 to just a few months ago; his father had the mind to make Kanmuri his successor as the fourth generation boss of the Hashiguchi yakuza clan, and studying in Harvard would contribute nothing to becoming a good yakuza boss. In the end, it was Kanmuri's high school teacher – yes, Kanmuri was already in high school at the age of 11 – who managed to convince his father that it would be a waste not to maximize Kanmuri's potential to the fullest. Kanmuri's father yielded, yes, but Kanmuri had to promise that he would return to Japan and eventually be the successor of Hashiguchi clan.

It wasn't that Kanmuri had something else he really wanted to do. He was interested in Life Science, but not enough to want to be a researcher – he didn't think he could do that for the rest of his life. Living with dimwitted thugs most of his life had eroded his patience. Kanmuri loved the time he was in Harvard, though, the competitiveness, and the desire to improve himself, something he couldn't achieve as a yakuza, but as of yet, he still had nothing worth risking his life for, which he would have to do if he were to escape from the path of being a yakuza.

"Bocchan-"

"No." Kanmuri interrupted. "Going to hospital for cuts…that's exaggerating. Harumi's more than good enough."

"But what if the wounds get infected like the tattoo-"

A glare, and the long-haired man knew to shut his mouth.

Kanmuri would never forget that moment. He was given the tattoo on his back as his twelfth's birthday present, a mark that he was no longer a child. His father had wanted the design to be fierce, like a dragon or a tiger, but Kanmuri chose a red dragonfly, hovering above a lone chrysanthemum. He was told it was his mother's favourite flower, gold as a crown, the family's namesake. And he resembled a stick-thin dragonfly more than a dragon, anyway. But somehow, after he started using bacteria in fights to compensate for lack of physical strength, and he became notorious for his short-temperedness, the red dragonfly became his nickname.

Kanmuri actually liked the tattoo, despite the infection and the grief he had to go though. The tattoo was art, not a brand on his skin.

The car pulled over a large, Japanese-style estate, and Kanmuri stepped out of the car and into the house. Inside, many men had arranged themselves in the corridor and greeted him. "Gokuro-sama, Shigeru Bocchan(1)!"

"Shigeru-san!" from the end of the rows of men, came a dark-haired girl, pale and petite like himself, clad in a blue kimono. A Yamato Nadeshiko(2), Kitagawa Harumi was the daughter of the boss of Kitagawa yakuza clan, the 3rd largest yakuza clan in Japan (The 2nd largest preferred remaining enemies to collusion), and Kanmuri's betrothed. They had been friends ever since Kanmuri could remember, despite the difference in their intelligence level. A gentle soul, she was his solace when the other dense thugs became too much for him to bear.

"Shigeru-san, you're hurt!"

"I'm okay," Kanmuri smiled when the girl stood back instead of fussing over the wounds, "I'll clean them as I take a bath. You can wait in the living room to tend for them." She was the only one he trusted for that. The other guys would just fuss and not know what to do with the cuts. He doubted they could even tie a proper knot for the bandage.

It turned out that a stupid someone – one of the brutes, no doubt - was using the bathroom for so long Kanmuri nearly break the opaque glass door in irritation. After he finished taking a bath, a cold bath, mind you, which worsened his mood even further, he opened the door to the living room huffily. "Sorry for taking so long-"

Harumi didn't seem to mind. In fact, Harumi was singing. Out loud, pouring her heart.

_Roxanne, you don't have to put on that red light_

_Walk the streets for money_

_You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right_

_Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight_

_Roxanne, you don't have to sell your body to the night_

_His eyes upon your face_

_His hand upon your hand_

_His looks caress your skin_

_It's more than I can stand_

_Why does my heart cry?_

_Feelings I can't fight_

_You're free to leave me _

_But just don't deceive me,_

_And please believe me when I say I love you_

He couldn't hear it from outside the room, but that was probably because the living room was also designed to be a karaoke room for the thugs' entertainment. Her English was surprisingly good; forgive Kanmuri for saying that since Harumi wasn't very bright in her academics; foreign languages and music seemed to be the only subjects she liked. Kanmuri had heard the song before when he was in USA, on a school trip to Broadway. It was in a musical, he thought, Moulin Rouge, and the song was sung by a man. It didn't sound so bad with a female voice. And there was something else. There was longing in her voice, longing so strong Kanmuri, a person of logic and science wanted, that instance, to feel a longing, a love for someone, once in his life.

As she sang the last few notes, Kanmuri clapped as hard as he could. "Bravo!"

Harumi turned so fast she tripped on the end of her kimono and fell on the floor. Kanmuri rushed to her. "Harumi! Daijoubu(3)?" He offered his hand to her, but she was covering her face, which was so red it spread to the tips of her ears, with her hands and did not take it. Kanmuri laughed. "What are you embarrassed of? Your voice is so good!" he tugged her hands off her face.

Her brown eyes shone. "You think so?"

Kanmuri nodded, and she smiled so wide it split her face to two. Kanmuri had never seen her smile like that, despite having been friends for a long time. She was rather introverted, and did not share her secrets with him unlike he did with her, and when Kanmuri was in Harvard he kind of lost touch with her, so that was understandable, he guessed, but the smile was really heartening to see.

Which was why he was sad when the smile disappeared in a second. "Forget it," she remarked as she stood up and took the first aid kit from the table.

"Why?" Kanmuri frowned, "You have the talent."

Harumi motioned for Kanmuri to put his wounded hands in front of her, which he did without breaking his gaze from her eyes. Harumi was determined to let the matter go, but Kanmuri was determined to get it out of her, like pulling a tooth, and Kanmuri's determination won. Harumi was applying antiseptics to the cuts when she broke. "It'll never work."

"Why do you give up before even trying?" Kanmuri didn't understand. He prayed so hard for something he could throw away his life for; she found hers, so why was she so weak-willed?

"You don't understand!" She stood up so fast Kanmuri winced, but she, who was normally very sensitive to Kanmuri's needs, didn't notice. "I am the only child to succeed the Kitagawa clan. Aniue-sama(4) died in that horrible fight. I'm so weak I can't lead the clan myself…I don't want to disappoint Chichiue-sama any more. Besides, my dream of becoming an opera singer…it has to be in Europe, since Japanese don't really like western operas…I have to put my all in that, it's not something I can do while being a wife of a yakuza boss and a mother…"

By the end of her talk, she appeared ashamed to have lost her composure; the tears stopped falling, and she picked the pink-haired boy's hands again. "I'm sorry."

But Kanmuri was moved. "Harumi!" he put his hands on her shoulders, "Don't give up on it yet! I promise after I marry you, I'll give you all the freedom you want."

"Shigeru-san-"

"I'm serious," his amethyst eyes bore to hers again, and she couldn't help but cry again. "Thank you, Shigeru-san."

Kanmuri lent her his shoulder to cry on.

(1) Thank you for your hard work

(2) Feminine, submissive, model Japanese female

(3) Are you okay?

(4) Older brother

TBC

A/N: This fic is NOT Kanmuri/Harumi. I believe every gay must have a girl best friend like me and my gay best friend who had left me to Melbourne (kidding. I know you're still me friend). I'm sorry if Harumi sounds Mary Sue. She isn't clever. And no one says she's pretty; she's a regular-looking Japanese girl with a good voice and a gentle heart. She is pivotal to Kanmuri's escape from his yakuza fate. Next Chapter: Kanmuri meets the guys from Southern Tokyo Pantasia branch!

A/N2: I'm sorry I use many Japanese phrases (some of them not even correct!). Please tell me if you dislike it, or want me to change the format e.g. write the translation next to the phrase or the Japanese words.

A/N3: This chapter had been revised due to overuse of Japanese phrases. Will rewrite the next chapters in due time. Thank you, Alice-san.

Last words: REVIEW PLEASE!


	2. Chance Meeting

Title: Akai Tonbo

Authoress: Aria DC al fine

Disclaimer (I forgot to put this in the prologue): Yakitate!! Japan and its characters are sadly not mine…though Yakuza!Kanmuri is mine! Mwahahaha…er…

Chapter 1: Chance Meeting

"So that people can change, all that's needed is a meeting."

- Ichihara Yuuko, XXXHolic -

Azusagawa Yukino took a deep, deep breath. "So?" Her nearly nonexistent patience was running thin. Her gaudy red nails tapped on her armchair, the rhythm quickening as seconds ticked away. "Do you accept the proposal or not? Do I have to spell it to you one by one for you to understand?" Fumes were ejected off her nostrils after she took a drag out of her cigarette.

"B-but," a bald brawny man in a bright-coloured Hawaiian T-shirt replied, "If Bocchan finds out…" he looked around at a dozen similarly dressed thugs in the room, who nodded in unison at their leader.

A vein popped on Yukino's temple. "I have to make use of this one in a million chance. If I don't attack now, when that mendoukusai tenchou (annoying manager) is not around…" she muttered to herself, "There's no other choice!" She threw a sum of money on the table, her gaudy red lips curling to a smirk as she let the gang 'ooh'-ed and 'whoa'-ed at the thick wad of yen. "Soo?" Yukino asked again, and propped her feet, which was clad in similarly gaudy red stilettos, up on the table next to the money.

"We'll take the proposal!" The baldy replied and bowed, the other gang members following after him.

"Hmph!" Yukino kicked the money to the baldy's feet, "You'd better do it well, you hear me?"

"HAI!" they chorused.

"Leave!" Yukino ordered, and the men left immediately, their hands twitching around the money, eyes filled with lust and greed.

As soon as they left, Azusagawa Yukino tossed her head back, crushed the cigarette in her hand and laughed gleefully. "Jama miro, Gokiburi-domo me (You'll see, cockroaches)!" She managed as she clutched her stomach, "Zettai tataki subusero (I'll definitely crush you)! Hahaha!"

* * *

One fine morning at Minami (Southern) Tokyo Pantasia Branch…

"IEE (NO)!" Tsukino shrieked in a high-pitched, damsel-in-distress voice, "Yamete kudasai (please stop)!"

Kawachi Kyousuke, Kinoshita and Azuma Kazuma, who were baking batches of more bread to be sold that day, rushed out of the kitchen into the store. "Tsukino! Nan ya de (What happens)?" Kawachi exclaimed as he opened the door with a bang.

The sight that greeted the three (two?) bakers were, at the very least, shocking. A dozen burly, muscular, grubby men with horrible fashion sense were littered all over the store, turning baskets of breads upside down, crushing the ashes of their cigarettes over the breads, sitting on the counters, snatching the breads, breaking them into pieces and trampling on the crumbs. Two men were flirting with Tsukino, putting their hands on her and looping their arms around her shoulders with typical middle-aged-uncle perverted looks on their faces. "Jo-chan (girl), play with uncles!" one of them said in an attempted husky voice which only sounded ridiculous.

Kinoshita was pissed. "You filthy scum! Lay your hands off Tsukino-sama!" he multiplied himself with his Bunshin (Copy) technique and charged at the two men.

"What did you say we are?" The two men were even more pissed. They left Tsukino and punched the stick-thin mushroom-headed men, each one of them, on the faces, sending them sprawling all over the place, wreaking more havoc as more breads fall. Tsukino seemed distressed. "The breads!" she moaned, completely disregarding Kinoshita's wellbeing. Heartbroken, all the Kinoshitas said, in a pitiful voice, "Oka-san (Mother), it seems that I have been abandoned…again," before they collapsed, and all the copies disappeared, leaving the original one lying out cold at the corner.

"What are you doing here? We have nothing! Leave the store!" Kawachi shouted, his body tensing to a fighting stance. You must bear in mind that at that time he hadn't acquired the Solar Gauntlet, and was little better than Kinoshita in terms of muscle mass. (Yes, the timeline of this fanfiction is before the Newcomer's Battle.)

One of the men snorted at him. "Look at him! Does he even think that he can lay a punch on us? Huh! Juu-nen hayai dazo (It's ten years too early)!" he stated mockingly, and a few others laughed at the blonde.

The mockery only served to provoke Kawachi even further. The Kansai boy raised his fists. "Don't belittle me! Come here and fight, you cowards!" he challenged.

"Cowards?" Oops, it was a wrong word to use. Scratch that, it was a wrong move altogether. Every yakuza in the store turned their head towards him and approached him, trapping him in a corner and closing in on him. Kawachi realized that he was in a difficult situation and changed his attitudes altogether. "Who said that? Whoa, that bicep muscle is big! You are so strong!" He sang praises in an attempt to lick their arses, but failed. The men knocked him down to the floor and kicked his writhing body.

"Tsukino," Azuma whispered in a small voice, "Tenchou wa doko ja (where's the manager)? Kare nara kitto…(he can surely solve the problem)."

Tsukino shook her head. "The manager is not here; he's with Ryuu-san in China. Said he had a debt he owed to a long-time friend…"

Tsukino and Azuma turned to take one look at Kawachi, who was trying to dodge the kicks, and sighed.

* * *

Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru was royally pissed.

The amethyst-eyed yakuza had low blood pressure, and was not definitely a morning person. Yet Harumi, the only person who could wake Kanmuri up and leave his bedroom unscathed, disturbed his sleep, and the worst of all was that he couldn't take his irritation out on the girl. Kanmuri hurried through the motion of washing his face, brushing his teeth and changing out of his pajama with a dark cloud of pent up frustration the size of the cloud from the Hiroshima atomic bomb incident looming over his pink-haired head, and minced Aoyagi (the long-haired man in black suit I mentioned in the prologue. I just found out his name after reading the manga) with his glare when the man was going to tell Kanmuri the reason why he had to be woken up at the wee hours of the morning. (Duh, it's only 9 a.m. Kanmuri is such a drama queen.)

"Aoyagi," Kanmuri's voice was so low it went beyond normal human voice's decibels, "what you're going to say next will determine your life and death."

"Shigeru-Bocchama," Aoyagi trembled and bowed, not brave enough to look at Kanmuri's narrowed amethyst eyes, which were shadowed by a curtain of pink fringe. Whoever said that pink and purple couldn't look scary was dead wrong. "One of the gangs launched a self-initiated attack on a bread store in Southern Tokyo," Aoyagi explained.

The temperature of the room decreased by ten degrees. Kanmuri's pink hair rose like Medusa's. "You dare bother my sleep for something like this? Can't you settle it on your own?" the tone of his voice was murderous.

Aoyagi dropped on his knees and knocked his head on the floor. "We found out that it's not as self-initiated as we thought," he rushed out in one breath, "It seems that they had accepted bribery."

The temperature turned back to normal. So did Kanmuri's hair. "Corruption, huh?" Kanmuri stated, his fingers rubbing his chin in contemplation, "So they have breached the rules of the Hashiguchi group…"

After a moment, Kanmuri nodded. "Very well. Prepare my car," he smirked. "At last, I can vent my frustrations out," he murmured under his breath.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Minna," Kawachi extended his hand to reach out for Azuma and Tsukino, who were trying to make themselves as small as possible behind the cashier counter, "Why don't you help me?" He cried anime-style. "Meanie! Aren't we friends?"

Outside, a posh red car pulled over an small and dingy-looking bread store. Kanmuri stepped down from the car. "Pantasia," he read the sign above the doors, the gears in his brain working, "Masa ka…(can it be)?" he thought as Aoyagi opened the doors for him, and he entered the store.

Inside was, as expected, chaotic. Overturned baskets, pieces of breads, cigarette butts, dirt and ashes were strewn all over the floor. The thugs were beating someone into a pulp at the back of the store. A skinny man with a weird hairstyle was lying prone on the floor. Kanmuri sighed at the all-too-familiar sight. "Yamete kure (Stop)!" He ordered.

None of his men obeyed his command. In fact, one of them growled over the heads of his gang members, "Omae wa dare datou omou (who do you think you are), huh?"

A vein popped on Kanmuri's temple. The vein had popped so many times it was a wonder the vein hadn't burst. "I'm someone who can change your fates, you ARSEHOLES!" he bellowed with all the air in his lungs.

Everyone turned his or her head towards him, their full attention on him. The gang members squeaked. "Shigeru-Bocchama!" They kowtowed to Kanmuri. "We're sorry!"

"Sumanai dake wa TARINAI DESU YO (Sorry is not enough)!" Kanmuri barked, took a few steps into the store and placed his foot, clad in a heavy Japanese sandal, on the back of one of the men crouching and cowering on the floor. His pale, lithe arms were crossed over his chest. "Tell me," one violet eye twitched, "do you think I'm dumb?"

The thugs looked at each other, uncertain of what game their boss was playing at, before one responded meekly, "No, Shigeru-Bocchama, you're a genius-"

"Then, why did you think that I won't discover that you have breached one of the brotherhood's codes?" he hollered, jabbing the person's spine with his foot at each emphasized word. "Are you even aware you've breached the codes? Or are you too stupid to read the large piece of paper you see when you pass the Hall everyday?" Kanmuri hissed; he was so angry his whole body turned red. This was another reason he was called Akai Tonbo (other than his tattoo, of course). "If you are, let me read it to you now! Rule number 5: don't launch an attack without the boss' permission!"

Thunders roared anime-style.

"Shigeru-Bocchama-" the men begged, through chattering teeth.

"That's not the only thing, is it?" Kanmuri interrupted, and paused, letting the fear, solid as a rock sink into the thug's stomachs. "Apparently, you have accepted bribery as well!"

There was absolute silence now. Everyone was so afraid, nobody dared to move even an inch. One of the men even pissed in his pants. Tsukino, Azuma and Kawachi covered their noses. "Kusai (Stinks)!"

Kanmuri scrunched his nose as well as he bent down and yanked the person up by the hair. "Who is that person?" he interrogated in low, murderous voice.

"I-I don't k-know-" he stuttered.

"How does that person look like?" Kanmuri grilled relentlessly.

"It was a woman, 20-somethin', fair, tall, slim and curvy, has long black hair, gaudy red nails…"

Tsukino was struck silent. 'The description fits…'

"Azusagawa Yukino," Kanmuri voiced the name in Tsukino's mind, and the brown-haired girl shot up to look at the pink-haired boy, whose amethyst eyes were already staring at her. "Dou yara ano waza wa hontou mitai desu ne (the rumour seems to be true after all)…" he remarked calmly.

Tsukino's mind was reeling. Who is this boy? How much did he know? A thousand questions bubbled on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be let loose. "You-"

But the boy had already averted his attention back to the man whose hair was still pulled tautly in his grasp. "Where is the money now?"

The person didn't answer. He tried to avoid looking at Kanmuri's eyes by turning his head sideways. "A-ano…" he stalled.

"You've spent it all, don't you?" Kanmuri said flatly, "On women, pachinko, drugs, alcohol, gambling, and all that ROT, haven't you, KUZU (trash). You've done it. You've really done it to yourselves," he spat with an air of finality, and let go of his hold on the man's hair.

The man scrambled to grab Kanmuri's foot and kissed it repeatedly. "Kamben shite kure! Yurushite kure (Please forgive us)!" he pleaded with tear-filled face, "Don't expel us from the Hashiguchi yakuza group. PLEASE! We promise we'll do anything to repent our mistakes!" He turned to the other thugs, who nodded furiously with him and got up on their feet.

"Stop!" Kanmuri shouted before all twelve thugs raced to kiss his foot. "You'll do anything?" he pondered, and tilted his head, pretending to give the notion a second thought.

"HAI!" They chorused.

"Nara…(Then)" an extremely evil expression passed over his innocent boyish face. It was not human, it was positively demonic, "Kakugo shi ne (prepare yourselves)…jigoku e (for hell)…"

The thugs froze, asked themselves 'what have I done?' in their heads and regretted their decisions when Aoyagi and other men in black suits lugged them out of the store, hitting, whipping and treating them badly.

"Enjoy your punishments!" Kanmuri said cheerfully as he waved at their disappearing figures.

Kawachi, who had gotten up from the floor, Azuma, and Tsukino stared at the scene unblinkingly. Tsukino started. "That was…"

Kawachi nodded. "You don't have to say it. I understand. He's…"

What the Kansai boy was about to say was lost when Kanmuri turned to Tsukino and bowed. "Moshiwake gozai masen, ne (I apologise)," he smiled, "Boku wa Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru desu, son of the Hashiguchi yakuza boss. My men are so troublesome," he gave her an apologetic look. "It seems that they have caused you some problems as well. Here," he pulled a brown envelope out of the sleeve of his kimono and offered it to Tsukino, "It's for compensation. I hope you'll forget this incident…" His smile disappeared abruptly. "And I wish you luck, Azusagawa Tsukino," his tone was serious.

The two teenagers engaged in silence for a while. Tsukino extended her hand, took the envelope and was about to say thank you when suddenly, a loud, echoing rumble originated from the pink-haired boy's stomach.

"Ie…Komata ne…(it's troublesome)" Kanmuri blushed, "Jitsu wa boku asa gohan mada tabenai desu (to be honest, I haven't eaten breakfast yet)." He laughed to cover his embarrassment. "And whose fault is that?" he muttered under his breath and cursed the stupid thugs.

Tsukino chuckled. "It's okay Hashiguchi-"

"Please, call me Kanmuri," the pink-haired boy interjected.

Tsukino perceived that the boy had something he hid. She filed her curiosity to the growing number of questions she would like to ask the amethyst-eyed boy, but she would stay silent, for now. "Kanmuri-kun, then," she smiled. "As thank you, why don't you eat our bread for free?"

Kanmuri turned his head and looked around the store. Most of the breads had been trampled, stepped on, etc, not fit for consumption. "Er…"

"Not those breads, of course!" Tsukino said quickly, "We still have more bread inside. You should try them, they're fresh baked from the oven!" She put her hand around Kanmuri's wrist and led him to the kitchen. "Come!"

The kitchen was pristine, in great contrast to the store. And true enough, there were breads baking in the oven. Kanmuri had his doubts about the breads, but the aroma that wafted to his nose was enough to entice his salivary glands.

After the timer rang, Tsukino opened the uppermost oven and presented him with a French bread. "Sa, Douzo!"

Kanmuri stared at the bread, gulped, and stretched out his hand to take it. "Well," he commented, "the Parisian does look delicious."

Tsukino was surprised that Kanmuri had some knowledge of varieties of breads. "You know that it's a Parisian?"

"Well, there was a senior in my school who really loves bread," the pink-haired boy replied, "He used to tell me bits and pieces of information about breads here and there." Kanmuri turned to the bread, and gulped again. "Well, then, itadakimasu…" he brought the bread closer to his lips and took a bite.

As soon as the food was in his mouth, Kanmuri felt as though he had flown to the outer space, and sped through many different star constellations, until he saw-

"SAGITARIUS!" Kanmuri gasped, his eyes wide. "Nan te migoto na Parisian desu (What a wonderful Parisian)! The crust is really crispy and the insides soft. You used goat milk, didn't you?" He inquired Tsukino.

"Ara-ara…Kono pan tsukuta no wa watashi jyanai desu wa (the one who made this bread isn't me). If you want to ask questions, ask him," the brunette pointed at a young, tanned and slender baker, whose shoulder-length brown hair was kept away from his face with a pink hair band. The boy smiled widely at Kanmuri and introduced himself. "Yo! Ore wa Azuma Kazuma ja (I'm Azuma Kazuma) ! Hajime mashite (Nice to meet you)!"

Kanmuri wondered how on earth he did not notice this boy beforehand. He was larger than life, full of spirit and energy. He did look a little stupid, which was why Kanmuri might have mistaken him as one of the thugs in the Hashiguchi group. Nevertheless, he found the boy's caramel eyes most…distinctive.

"You!" Kanmuri grabbed the boy's shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding on to the Parisian, "Teach me how to bake this bread!"

"Huh?" Azuma's jaw dropped, his eyes widening, "Why?"

"I just want to! I want to be able to bake a bread!" Kanmuri insisted, his grip on Azuma tightening, his face nearing that of the other baker.

Azuma stared at him for a while before grinning and retorted, "Okay, I'll teach you how to make the Parisian you ate! But then you may have to change to my spare uniform, because you won't want to stain that expensive kimono with flour. I guess we should be of the same size…"

Kanmuri was surprised at the boy's easygoingness. Kanmuri knew he asked for it, but he was pretty much prepared to fight dirty for it. Wasn't he afraid that Kanmuri was going to steal his recipe?

"Yes, Azuma, you should be afraid that he's going to steal your recipe!" Kawachi yelled, annoyed that he had been ignored, that no one was tending to his wound. Kanmuri realized that he had been saying his question out loud and blushed.

"Why should I?" Azuma countered and grinned again, "I'm glad whenever anyone wants to learn how to bake bread!" He said passionately.

His passion attracted as well as confused Kanmuri.

"But, I don't think it is okay with Tsukino! It's Pantasia bread, after all!" Kawachi argued

Azuma turned to his employer, the manager-proxy, Tsukino. "Ii no (Is it okay)?"

Truthfully, Tsukino didn't know Kanmuri's intention, but she wasn't about to make enemies with this boy who, from what she had witnessed, could wield such a power, could control so many men. This boy who was the son of the No.1 Yakuza group in Japan. "Ii yo (It's okay)," She answered her employee. "After all, we have to bake many breads to replace those rendered inedible…and any extra help is welcome."

So, Kanmuri was shown the way to the locker room to change into Azuma's spare uniform and pants. The boy must have sucked at household chores, because Kanmuri could still detect a faint whiff of sweat, yeast, baking flour, and something unique from the spare uniform, something that must be Azuma's own scent, something like a particular brand of soap or detergent the boy had been using for a long time that stuck to him. Kanmuri knew this because of Harumi, who always smelled of citrus even though she wasn't wearing a perfume, because she had been using this brand of citrus-scented shampoo for years.

"Flour, water, a bit of salt, butter, milk, eggs and sugar are basic ingredients for making bread," Azuma explained as he taught Kanmuri how to bake bread, his hands mixing the ingredients as he spoke. "To make specific types of bread, usually we add or change the ingredients at this stage. For example, we can replace the cow milk with soy milk, or goat's milk. For now, knead the bread like this…" he demonstrated the movements: up, down, clockwise, anticlockwise. "It's a bit hard at first, but the flour will mix with other ingredients into dough, and as we knead, the dough will ferment and rise…"

Kanmuri tuned the explanation out after a while; they were common sense. He concentrated more on copying the boy's hand movements and ensuring that the dough they kneaded were similar.

"Don't take it too seriously, Kanmuri-han," Kawachi said, "Azuma here has Taiyo no Te (Solar Hands), so his dough will most probably rise faster than yours-"

"No, look!" Tsukino, who had been watching them, pointed at Kanmuri's dough and Azuma's dough. They had _both_ risen to a large size.

Kawachi's eyes bulged. "Don't you say," he gasped.

Tsukino grabbed Kanmuri's hand. Kanmuri, whose focus had been solely on kneading the dough, was shocked. "What are you trying to-"

"Yappari (I knew it)," Tsukino exclaimed as she was pressing Kanmuri's right hand between her own two hands, "Kanmuri-kun also has Taiyo no Te!"

The amethyst-eyed boy frowned. "Solar Hands? What does that absurd term mean?" he asked, cynicism lacing his tone.

"It means you have inherently warm hands, which are good things to have as a baker, since-"

"Warm hands make the fermentation process faster, and the bread will turn out softer," Kanmuri finished Tsukino's rationalization and stared at his hands. "Tashikani (now that I think about it)… my hands are always warm…but I thought many people have warm hands."

"Not as warm as Solar Hands. They're hereditary gifts. Less than a hundred families in the world have them," Tsukino remarked, "You should be grateful! They can do miracles!"

"Khh!" Kawachi made a woe-is-me sound through gritting his teeth, "why does Kanmuri-han have it but not me?" He whined. "Kami!"

Kanmuri still looked at his hands in distrust. "Are you sure just warm hands can make miracles?"

"If you don't believe me, you can try the bread you bake later," Tsukino sounded very sure of herself.

Roughly an hour afterwards, when the dough had undergone 2nd fermentation and been baked in the oven, Kanmuri was staring at the product of his so-called Solar Hands. 'Well, this Parisian looks and smelled similar to Azuma's…' he thought, before he cut it into four pieces and gave Azuma, Tsukino, Kawachi and himself one each. "Itadakimasu…"

"UMA-II!!" Kawachi neighed like a horse, and gazed at the piece of Parisian in disbelief. "You don't tell me…this is the first time you bake bread?"

Distraught by the unexpectedly appetizing taste of his bread, Kanmuri took a moment to realise he was being addressed. "Huh?" the yakuza turned to the blonde, "Yes. It is."

"Nan te migoto na Parisian desu," Tsukino sighed dreamily, before she put both her hands around Kanmuri's hands and raised them up to their chin level. "Kanmuri-kun! Anata wa saino ga aru desu (You have talent)!"

"Boku ga (me)?" Kanmuri blinked. He was still in a trance.

"Ou (Yes)!" Azuma slapped Kanmuri's back friendlily and grinned at him, "If this is your first time baking…I can't wait to see how much you can improve! Then you can help me make Japan!"

"Japan?" the fairer sixteen-year-old repeated, puzzled.

"Yes, Japan!" There it was, a passionate look took over Azuma's face. "It's-"

"Moshiwake gozai masen, Shigeru-san," a female voice disrupted the beginning of Azuma's monologue. Everyone turned to its source, and Kanmuri found Harumi, in a red kimono, standing by the door to the kitchen. "Shigeru-san," Harumi bowed, "Hashiguchi-sama requests for your presence in the meeting."

When Harumi was sent to get him, not Aoyagi, it meant his father was serious. "Very well," Kanmuri replied, a freezing look crossing his face, "You shall wait in the car. I'll be there after I change into my kimono."

Harumi, the girl who had been trained to obey most of his commands, bowed again and left. Kanmuri disappeared into the locker rooms to change his clothes, and when he was only steps away from the door of the store, turned to Azuma, Tsukino and Kawachi and smiled. "It seems that we have to part now…"

Kawachi and Tsukino fell silent. They seemed to understand no matter how talented as a baker Kanmuri was, he could never be one, because someone else had laid a path, in concrete, for him.

Azuma, though, didn't seem to get it. He clasped Kanmuri's hands with his own warm ones. "Visit us sometimes, okay? I'll teach you how to make Japans!" the caramel-eyed boy smiled.

The smile warmed Kanmuri's heart, making him smile back instead of shouting, 'it'll never work, Baka!' "I will," he said as he extracted his hands from his new friend's and waved. "Mata ne (see you)!"

"Ou (yes)!" Azuma waved back, continued waving until the car turned over the corner. "Now…" Tsukino looked at the mess her store was in, and sighed, "Don't slack! Let's get back to work!"

"OU!" Azuma shouted, just as Kawachi asked, "Tokoro de (by the way), how much money did Kanmuri-han give us?"

Tsukino appeared to be thinking before giving a kawaii pose. "Hi-mi-tsu (secret)!"

"Kechi (stingy)!" Kawachi scowled, "Come on, I was hurt too! I want compensation!"

"It's your own fault!"

"Tsukino!"

And yes, before anyone asks, Kinoshita was still unconscious on the floor.

TBC

* * *

A/N: This chapter is so FUN to write! I hope you don't mind Kanmuri's…"OOCness". I figure if Kanmuri has been raised differently his character will be different as well. He's still a genius but he's not as tactful as he is in the anime…Hashiguchi Kanmuri Shigeru is used to being worshipped and feared. It was him most people have to please; he doesn't really need to pick his words carefully or put on acts to appease others…except his father may be.

A/N2: Scratch that. This chapter was originally fun to write, until the computer had to crash on me! I lost 7 pages of what I've written! Thankfully I still remember most of the earlier parts…and managed to rewrite them with 60 accuracy, even improved them. But boy, was I pissed. And the scene I loved most, the scene about Kanmuri going berserk in the store…I lost about 50 accuracy in that! I'm so sad T.T


	3. Taking a few steps forward

Title: Akai Tonbo

Authoress: Aria DC al fine

Disclaimer: Not mine. No money, no sue.

Chapter 2: Taking a few steps forward

"Shigeru-san," Harumi called her fiancé softly. There was no reply. "Shigeru-san," the girl tried again, louder this time.

The pink-haired teenager was sitting by the window, his pale face illuminated by the moonlight. He was chewing his bottom lip - a sign that he was thinking about something really hard – and leaning against the wall, the weight of his head supported by his hand. Harumi could see his chest rising and falling in a rhythm, but otherwise, Kanmuri was still, unmoving as a gorgeous statue, far removed from the world.

Harumi was worried. After she picked him up from Minami Tokyo Pantasia Branch, Kanmuri had been in a contemplative mood. She had to keep on prodding him during the meeting with Hashiguchi representative bosses who came from all over the regions to remind Kanmuri to make responses, however small, and pretend that he was listening to his subordinates; it was basic courtesy, pivotal to maintaining peace within the Hashiguchi group, and necessary to keep Kanmuri's fierce father from noticing that something was amiss. The job was twice as difficult as not only she shouldn't make it obvious, but Kanmuri was also miles away, out of her reach. It was the most tiring meeting she had attended.

Then, after the meeting, Kanmuri planted himself next to the window and was rooted there. No one, including herself, could get him to take a hot bath or eat dinner in the dining hall. Well, the latter was understandable since Hashiguchi-sama, and his new Mistress, the insipid woman with huge jiggling breasts and absolutely nothing inside her pretty head, were staying in the main house tonight and Kanmuri, who hated his father's gut and wished to see him as little as possible, would naturally avoid eating dinner with the man and the bimbo. But the former was something Kanmuri normally treasured; his bathing time was his 'Me' time, and like his sleep, if perturbed, the consequences would be dire.

If this unusual behaviour wasn't a cause for concern and alarm, Harumi didn't know what else was.

"SHIGERU-SAN!" She gave one last attempt using her diaphragm, and snapped her fingers right in front of those glassy amethyst eyes.

The boy literally jumped from the tatami. "Harumi!" He exclaimed in shock, his hands clutching his heart and holding his head. "Bikuri shita (that was shocking)! My soul nearly leapt out of my body! Why did you do that?"

But Harumi's response was a gentle smile. "Yokata (Thank goodness). Ano Minami Tokyo Pantasia kaete toki kara Shigeru-san zutto botoshiteru desu yo (Shigeru-san has been spacing out since you return from Southern Tokyo Pantasia Branch)," she pushed the tray of food she had been carrying to him, "It's your dinner. Please eat it."

On the tray were Kanmuri's favourite foods: katsudon, unagi, tempura – Harumi made sure of that, but the pink-haired boy didn't even glance at them. Instead, he reached for her hands and enclosed them within his own. Harumi blushed instantly, her slightly plump cheeks red as tomatoes. "Shigeru-san!" She yelped, "What are you doing?"

Kanmuri didn't look awkward, or flirtatious. His still appeared pensive. "Ne, Harumi," he said suddenly, "Boku no te wa atatakai desuka (are my hands warm)?"

"Huh?" Harumi was surprised; the question was unexpected. Even so, she would answer him honestly, if that could help him solve the predicament in his mind. "Hai. Shigeru-san no te wa tottemo atatakai desu (yes, Shigeru-san's hands are warm)."

"Fuutsu ningen no te yori atatakai desuka (warmer than ordinary human's hands)?"

Harumi frowned. "W-wakaranai wa (I don't know)," she remarked dejectedly before her spirit pitched up again, "demo, watashi no te yori Shigeru-san no te wa zettai ni atatakai desu (but compared to mine, Shigeru-san's hands are surely warm)."

However, her answers still couldn't bring him out of his trance. He still looked absentminded. "You know," Kanmuri said out of the blue again, "Apparently, there's a term for extraordinarily warm hands like mine."

"Oh?" Harumi leaned forward curiously. "What is the term?"

"Solar hands," Kanmuri replied automatically, "and apparently, they're good for baking bread."

A light bulb was switched on in Harumi's brain. The dark-haired girl leaned back and sat on her calves. "Shigure-san, would you tell me what happened at Southern Tokyo Pantasia branch? Does it have something to do with finding your dream?"

Kanmuri turned to look at her, his eyes fully awake now. Harumi smiled and encouraged him to start. "Well…" he withdrew his hands and put them at the back of his head. "It was like this…"

For the next half an hour, the young yakuza boss told his betrothed every single detail, from the thugs' ignoring his command to Azuma's teaching him how to bake bread, how he enjoyed the latter thoroughly and how delicious the bread he baked was. "Initially, I didn't believe Tsukino," he said animatedly, "but it really tasted good! And she told me I have the talent!"

As Kanmuri was speaking, Harumi observed that his whole face had lit up; his eyes were shining, he was more excited that he had even been, and there was passion underlining his voice. Harumi was glad. Kanmuri was in a journey to discover his true destiny.

"Shigeru-san," Harumi said a while after he finished his zealous soliloquy, "Ja, anata wa panshokunin ni naritai desuka (then, do you aspire to be a baker)?"

Kanmuri's face fell. "I-I don't know…" he murmured in a small voice, and put his hands on his lap, "I'm not sure yet…"

Harumi leaned forwards again and touched the back of his hand to get him to notice her. "Ii desu wa (it's okay)," she consoled him as his exquisite amethyst eyes met her own banal brown ones, "Yukuri kan'gaete kudasai (please take your time thinking about it). Yume wa yi shun de mitsuketa mono jyanai desu (a dream is not something one finds instantly)," she advised, "will going to Southern Tokyo Pantasia Branch again tomorrow help?"

A grin broke on Kanmuri's face. "I would love that!" but it was short-lived. "But how? The thugs will ask if I tell them I want to spend the whole day there. Worse, they'll inform father. How can I sneak out of the estate? They'll notice that I'm gone! They're always looking for me to solve the stupidest, most mundane troubles…"

"Simpai shinai de (don't worry about that)," Harumi winked and smiled widely, "Anata wa kabate kureru (I'll cover it up for you). Watashi wa ii no saksen ga aru kara (I have a good plan)!" She then moved her mouth closer to his ear and whispered furiously…

* * *

The next day…

"Shigure-Bocchan! Shigure-Bocchan!" As predicted, the thugs were calling for their pink-haired boss to make things right, "Please help us!"

They let Harumi in to wake Kanmuri up, and steeled themselves for a long wait, but instead, Harumi ran out of the sliding doors in less than five minutes after her entrance. "TAI HEN (It's horrible)!" She sobbed, "Shigeru-san is sick!"

The thugs gasped, and rushed to inform Aoyagi. "Shigeru-Bocchama!" the long-haired man in black suit exclaimed worriedly, "Daijoubu desuka?"

Kanmuri faked a few coughs from his position under the blanket. "No," he responded with a weak, hoarse voice. He then handed Harumi the thermometer, the one they had applied a trick to, which showed 38.5 on the digital screen.

"Oh, no!" Harumi moaned, "Shigeru-san has a fever!" She announced the disease with a tone that suggested it was deadly.

Aoyagi was getting more and more anxious. "Should we get him to the hospital?"

"NO!" Harumi shielded the futon, "Have you forgotten how much Shigeru-san _hates_ going to a hospital because of his mother's death?" She reasoned, and Aoyagi and the thugs were forced to agree with her as they remembered all too well the pandemonium that occurred when Kanmuri was brought to the hospital when his tattoo got infected. Harumi plopped to floor and put her hand on top of the blanket covering Kanmuri and breathed, in her best martyr voice, "I'll take care of Shigeru-san!"

"Should we inform Hashiguchi-sama?" Aoyagi asked.

"NOO!" Harumi sobbed even louder. "Shigeru-san doesn't wish to disturb Hashiguchi-sama and his new Mistress!"

"Then?" Aoyagi pressed, "What can we do to help?"

"Nothing," Harumi rose back up to her feet and began to usher the men out, "Let him rest. Don't bother him. In fact, don't even approach this area. We won't want to disturb his sleep, will we?" She said as she opened the door.

"Well, yes-"

"Then!" She gave them a push and closed the door immediately, "Leave everything to me!"

Harumi waited until she couldn't hear the sound of their footsteps as they walked away before opening the blanket. "The coast is clear!" She put up her thumb.

Kanmuri grinned, and moved quickly to change out of his pajama. Harumi turned away in shock, her face tingeing pink. "Thanks, Harumi," Kanmuri remarked as he finished pulling his T-shirt over his head, "You're such a good actress!"

"Thank you," Harumi said as she took out a bag she had prepared and gave it to Kanmuri. "You remember the location, don't you?"

"Yes," the pink-haired boy nodded as he took the bag from her.

"Do you know how to get there by subway?"

"Yes," Kanmuri repeated. "Anshin shiro (calm down). I won't get lost." He walked to the window and put one foot on the sill. "Once again, thanks!" he hollered without turning his head, and jumped out.

Harumi watched him until he disappeared from her sight and smiled. "Good luck, Shigeru-san…"

* * *

At southern Tokyo Pantasia branch…

"Ohayou!" Tsukino greeted his employers cheerfully as she opened the door to the kitchen.

"Ohayou!" Azuma was the only one who greeted her back with equal zest. Kinoshita, who was bandaged around the face, couldn't speak much, and Kawachi, who had bandages all over his bruises, appeared positively vinegary.

"Ara-ara…(A/N: I like ARIA's Alicia-san too much teehee) Kawachi-kun," the green-eyed girl smiled, "Why do you look so sour? Have you just eaten something nasty?"

Tsukino's sugary response seemed to exacerbate his mood. "Chau wa (no)," the blonde grunted, "Anyone will look sour after eating rice-cooker-baked breads for breakfast for days on end!" His expression turned darker.

"Hidoi (how cruel)!" Azuma cried, and turned to Tsukino, "Kawachi wa hidoi ja (Kawachi is cruel)! Ore no pan wa umai'n ja (my bread is delicious)!"

"Sore wa sou dakedo (it's true, but)…" Tsukino tried to appease the caramel-eyed baker, "Mai nichi taberu nara kitto yari sugi desu yo ne (if one eats that every day he or she will definitely get sick of it)."

A flash of lightning struck Azuma in the head (anime style). He squatted at the corner and shuffled his sneakers-clad-feet. "Sou ja ne (that may be it)…" he muttered, before his spirit picked up again as suddenly as it plunged. "Yapari sou ja (That has to be it)! Back home, I had also encountered this…Then, I'll bake you a different bread everyday!"

"That's the spirit!" Tsukino praised him, and the two did a little dance.

"Aho (idiots)," Kawachi shook his head, "I also had yesterday's beating to blame…those kuso (shitty) yakuza…" he gritted his teeth.

As soon as he said that, a pink-haired, violet-eyed boy barged into the kitchen. "Ohayou!" he greeted everyone warmly.

"DETA (he appears)!" Kawachi jumped out of his skin.

"Kanmuri-kun!" Azuma and Tsukino noticed the boy and approached him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…" The young yakuza looked very different in a casual blue shirt and knee-length white khakis. One could almost see no trace of abrasiveness in him now. Tsukino couldn't think of this ordinary-looking, lean and pale sixteen-year-old and yesterday's bloodcurdling yakuza boss as the same person.

Unaware of Tsukino's gaze, Kanmuri walked towards Azuma, whose presence he seemed to be most attracted to. "I come here to ask you," he put his hand on the boy's shoulder again, "to teach me how to bake many other types of bread!"

The tanned boy seemed ecstatic. "OU (yes)!" he grinned punched his fist to the sky.

'One cannot fight his kismet,' Tsukino smiled knowingly. "Kyoumi ga aru no, Kanmuri-kun (you have an interest in baking bread)?"

"Ma ne (well, yes)," he replied as he put his bag on the floor, "You can say that."

"Ee ka (is it okay)?" Kawachi seemed horrified. (Kinoshita was ignored through and through) "Kanmuri-han, what about the yakuza?"

"Ah, don't worry…" the boy turned to smile at the Kansai boy, "They have been taken care of," he said dismissively.

Kawachi really didn't want to know what the pink-haired boy did to his minions.

"Well, then!" Azuma exclaimed, getting everyone's attention on him, "We'll start with Kurowa-san!"

Kanmuri raised an eyebrow. "Kurowa-san?"

"It's croissant. Croissant!" Kawachi sighed. "Kanmuri-han, do you want to learn how to bake a normal croissant, or Azuma's croissant?"

"There is a difference?"

"Atarimae ya (of course)!" Kawachi relished the fact that he was more knowledgeable than this boy. "Normal croissant has 108 layers…but Azuma's croissant has tripled that; it has 324 layers!"

"Baka na (it's impossible)!" Kanmuri gasped, "Tashika ni (it's true that) the bread will become crispier, but with the dough stretched so thin, the high-sugar content will cause the croissant to be burnt!"

Kawachi nodded repeatedly, before he looked up in surprise. "De? How did you know?"

"The senior who loves bread…" Kanmuri recalled.

"And you can actually remember what he randomly told you?" Kawachi butted in.

Kanmuri looked sheepish. "Ma ne (well, yes)."

Kawachi was dumbstruck. "Sugee (it's incredible)."

"Stop talking and start baking!" Azuma pouted, and the stuck out lip distracted Kanmuri. "We need to bake breads to be sold today too!" he reminded them.

"HAI!" They chorused, and busied themselves in a flurry of motions.

* * *

Harumi practiced caution in opening the window, making sure that it was soundless. She let out a breath she didn't realized she was holding when Kanmuri slipped in safely. "Dou (how was it)?" She asked him as he took of his shoes.

"Today was so wonderful!" Kanmuri gushed elatedly, "I learned how to bake croissant, rye bread, dinner bread, butter roll…"

Harumi listened as the pink-haired boy prattled on and on about the differences between each type of breads, the extra ingredients, how to make them, and many, many more, with an even brighter glow in his eyes than there was the previous day. There was no doubt about it; Kanmuri had found his calling.

"Harumi!" Kanmuri snapped her out of her musing. Embarrassed for being caught off guard, the girl blushed. "Gomenasai. Nani ka ita (what did you say)?"

The pink-haired yakuza didn't reply straight away; he was rummaging through his bag, and after a while he squeezed a brown paper bag out. "I asked if you want to try one of the breads I baked," he passed her the bag, "here."

"A-arigatou," She opened the bag tentatively, and a wonderful aroma wafted to her nose. "I'm sorry it's not hot anymore," Kanmuri looked sideways as Harumi revealed a burnt croissant. The girl tilted her head, puzzled. "Ano…Shigeru-san?"

"Wasureteta (I forgot)!" Kanmuri plunged his hand into his bag again and conjured a spoon. "We have to use this to crack the bread," he raised the metal spoon and brought it down on the croissant, "like this!"

In an instance, the black outer layer was cracked away, to reveal a golden surface on the crescent-shaped bread. "Tsuki-san…" Harumi gasped, "Tsuki-san wa dete imasu (The moon appears)!"

Kanmuri smiled. "I was shocked too. Here. Meshiagete kudasai (please try it)!"

Harumi brought the croissant closer to her mouth. Somehow, her heart, and Kanmuri's as well, were beating up faster in anticipation. "Itadakimasu," she took a bite.

She was silent for a long time, before abruptly falling to the floor, and appeared to hyperventilate. Panicked, Kanmuri was down to his knees as well. "Harumi-"

The girl only opened her mouth wide, and began to sing with all her might. "Kaguya-hime-"

Kanmuri covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from singing the verses in a Japanese opera show about Princess Kaguya. They wrestled for a while before the reaction finally wore off.

"I'm sorry," Harumi panted, out of breath, "but it was so delicious! You really have the talent, Shigeru-san!"

"Thank you," Kanmuri blushed. "Then, can you please cover for me again tomorrow?"

"Ah? Eh…" Personally, she would say it would rouse suspicions, but with Kanmuri's eyes looking at her with such hope…how could she refuse? "Ii desu wa (okay)."

"Yatta (yes)!" Kanmuri was so eager he hugged his fiancée. "Arigatou!

Harumi blushed. "You're welcome."

* * *

The next morning…

"Shigure-Bocchan!" Aoyagi and a few other thugs exclaimed as they ran to their boss' room. "Shigure-Bocchan!"

"TAI HEN!" Harumi moaned again, as she stood in front the sliding doors and stretched her hands outwards, "Shigeru-san is STILL sick!"

"Huh?" they responded confusedly.

"Go! He needs more rest!" Harumi pushed them away before they could say anything more. "Don't disturb him the whole day!" She yelled and shooed them.

"Iku yo (go)," the girl said to Kanmuri after she returned inside the room. The boy was already dressed and was struggling into his shoes. "I owe you, Harumi!" He shouted as he hopped over the window and seemed to fly on his legs.

Harumi collapsed to her knees exhaustedly. 'Thank Goodness the thugs are dumb…'

* * *

The next, next morning…

"Shigeru-Bocchan-"

"TAI HEN!" Harumi interpolated the thugs. "Shigeru-san-"

"He's still sick?" Aoyagi finished her sentence, and furrowed his eyebrows, "It's been three days in a row…shouldn't we at least call a doctor?"

'Shimata (Oh, no)!' Harumi cried inwardly, 'bareru nara…kitto tai hen no koto…(If it's found out, a truly horrible thing will definitely…)!'

Harumi mustered all her acting skill and shed tears on the spot. Falling to her knees on the corridor, she sobbed, "do you imply that, as a caretaker, I have failed?"

Having only dealt with prostitutes and not someone as supposedly delicate as an ojou-san, Aoyagi was on his wits' end. "It's not what I mean, Harumi-san!" he said, maintaining his distance as he didn't know whether touching her would be considered as harassing his boss' woman or not.

"Then," Harumi pulled Aoyagi's sleeve, "Give me one more day! Shigeru-san will recover from his sickness tomorrow! He just needs more rest! I'll do my best!"

"All right," Aoyagi finally conceded, in fear of making a scene. "I have faith in you, Harumi-san." He and the other men bowed and left.

'Phew,' Harumi thought, 'I can't be pulling this stunt indefinitely…I need another plan.'

* * *

"And then after adding oats in the cookie dough...Harumi?" Noticing the troubled look on fiancée's face, Kanmuri stopped retelling what he'd learned that day, "What's wrong?"

"Shigeru-san…" Her voice was small, uncertain. Kanmuri braced himself for the worst. "Aoyagi-san-tachi (Aoyagi and his groupie) have became suspicious…He said that if you're still sick tomorrow, they'll call a doctor."

Kanmuri's face fell. He couldn't say that he didn't expect this to end; he was aware that he was pursuing his dream on borrowed time, and this fairy-tale-like life, like the one he had in Harvard, wasn't going to last. "Sou…ka (is that so)?" he forced himself to smile, his facial muscles hurting from the involuntariness of the action. "Ja…shikata ga nai desu ne (Then there isn't any other choice)."

A finger touched his cheek, spreading cool moisture on his skin and that was when the yakuza realised he was actually crying.

"Mada shimata wake dewa nai (It's not over yet)…" Harumi whispered and wiped all his tears. She smiled at him when he looked up. "Let me ask you this question again, Shigeru-san," Harumi said, "Anata wa hontou ni panshukunin ni naritai desuka (Do you really want to be a bread artisan)?"

This time, the answer was as clear as day in his mind. Having stepped one foot in the world where he found his calling, he couldn't go back. "Hai."

"Sou kimeta no ne (So you've made your decision), knowing that the path ahead is risky and dangerous."

Kanmuri nodded, darkened violet eyes reflecting his steel determination.

"Then, pack all the things that are dear to you."

"Huh?" Kanmuri was surprised at Harumi's seemingly out-of-the-blue instruction. "Harumi, what-?"

"I have a plan," Harumi stated as she handed him his traveling baggage, "I have already packed some of your clothes…but mementos…pack everything you feel are important. I don't think you're able to return, not in a long shot."

Kanmuri shoved the bag, letting it fall to the tatami with a soft thud, and raised his voice. "Yamete!" He put his hands on the frail girl's shoulders. "You can't be suggesting my leaving the yakuza! I know I said I've made up my mind, but it's really too fast-"

"Shigeru-san," Harumi interjected, her hands holding the pink-haired youth's face on both sides. Her face was still, her dark brown orbs calm. "Trust me."

* * *

"A TRIP?" Aoyagi's jaws hit the ground.

Harumi gave the long-haired man her sincerest smile and nodded.

"B-but-" Aoyagi stuttered, "Shigeru-Bocchan had just been sick for 3 days, and-"

"That's why Shigeru-san needs to go," the only lady in the estate said quickly, before turning her gaze at the sky over the window, "Lately, the air in the city has been dirty…" she sighed in a sorrowful tone, "It must have been the cause of Shigeru-san's malady… The Kitagawa clan has control over an inn in Gero (A/N: Remember the city from the fight against Panda-man in Yakitate!!9?), which has natural hot springs that are said to be able to cure diseases and improve one's health…" She spun back to Aoyagi and placed her hands on his, her eyes glimmering, "Is it wrong for me to be concerned for Shigeru-san? To wish him well?"

Slumped lifelessly on the wall, Kanmuri had been trying to look like he still had some residues of his sickness, but he was failing. Damn it, Harumi was such a good actress; he couldn't spoil her work by laughing out loud. The ends of his lips were twitching already as it was.

"B-but," Aoyagi was again, trapped in a dilemma. He really had a weak spot for this girl. And he saw that her intention was pure. "Shigeru-Bocchan can't go now. We have to wait for Hashiguchi-sama to come home from his negotiation with the Italian mafia…"

"But it can take weeks," Harumi cried out, "what if Shigeru-san's fever lapse back? Hashiguchi-sama will accuse you of neglecting Shigeru-san's wellbeing and punish you!"

Now, that was a possibility. "Wakarimashita (I understand)," Aoyagi nodded and bowed, "I'll pick 2 bodyguards to go along with you."

"No!" Harumi responded adamantly, "Only Shigeru-san and I are going for the trip."

Aoyagi's head snapped back up. "But why? We don't want your safety to be compromised!"

"Kitagawa men will be there. Besides…" Harumi peered sideways, her cheeks tinged with the colour of sakura petals. "I wish to deepen my relationship with Shigeru-san…" She bit her bottom lip and pulled her crimson kimono tighter around her torso.

"Ooh," Aoyagi and the other thugs seemed to get the innuendo. Their faces turned red as tomatoes. "O-of c-course!" Aoyagi remarked, embarrassed, "S-shigeru-Bocchan and H-Harumi-san are both 16…It is indeed-d a perfect time!"

Without further ado, the two got into Harumi's black BMW with their bags. As soon as the car departed from the estate, Kanmuri couldn't contain the bubbling laughter in his stomach anymore, and he let it all out. "Oh, my God, Harumi!" he wheezed, tears in his eyes, his abdomen cramping, "that was the best show I've seen in years! It was brilliant!"

"Good it amused you," Harumi retorted flatly, before she nodded at the chauffeur through the mirror. The bald man, whose eyes were covered by navy blue sunscreens, mimicked the gesture and the car sped up.

Soon, Harumi was leading her pale fiancé around a small flat in Southern Tokyo, which had 1 master bedroom with a shower, a kitchen, and a living room. "You can buy more time here," Harumi stated as she placed her bag at the foot of the King-sized bed, "If you change your mind, you can contact me and we'll return to the Hashiguchi estate."

Kanmuri's eyes were shifting around, taking in details. There was a layer of dust over every surface he could find and feminine touches scattered around the flat: a strawberry patterned shower curtain, a small mug with a bunny print, a lacy tablecloth. "Harumi-san," he voiced out, "What is this place?"

Harumi was quiet for a while before answering his question. "Kochi wa Aniue-sama no apato deshita (This used to be my brother's apartment)." There was a faraway gaze in her eyes as she took out a white handkerchief from the sleeve of her kimono and used it to swipe the top of the night stand. Kanmuri could see the fine dark grains of the mahogany wood, a stark contrast to the grey that surrounded the clean surface. "He bought it for his girlfriend shortly before he..."

Harumi didn't need to finish that sentence. Kanmuri waited for her inner emotional turmoil to diminish, before the girl continued, "Anyway, she left, and no one uses this place anymore. It's close to Minami Tokyo Pantasia, so you can commute there everyday…"

The pink-haired boy took a few steps towards his fiancée. "Harumi…" he started, "I know we're friends, but why do you do so much for me? Not that I don't appreciate it, but-"

"Shigeru-san," Harumi silenced Kanmuri, her mouth curved upwards, "Exactly because we're friends, I wish for your happiness, and I'll do anything in my power to help you attain it."

The statement hit Kanmuri hard. All his life, he'd never considered he'd do something like that. His mother died when he was four and all he had of her were memories of glimpses of her face, her scent, and the feel of her shirt against his skin. None of the thugs were close enough to him and his 'friends' in Harvard were more like rivals or study buddies or companions with terms and benefits. He hadn't realised that he'd experienced unconditional love …until now.

"I'll be going off now, Shigeru-san," Harumi said from the doorway of the apartment, the chauffeur on her trail. "Good luck, and work hard to achieve your dreams!"

"Thank-" Kanmuri said to her retreating back, but the door was slammed close, and he was alone in that place. "You…" he finished, somewhat lamely, and inhaled deeply. The air was stale, but it was his first breath of freedom, the second which promised good things in the upcoming ones.

TBC

A/N: Sad to say, this chapter is just filler. I planned to write the whole drama in this chapter, but you know, sometimes stories go their own ways? Anyway, Review Please!


	4. Sacrifice

Title: Akai Tonbo

Authoress: Aria DC al Fine

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warning: A bit of violence here and there

Chapter 3: Sacrifice

"OKAERINASAI (Welcome back), HASHIGUCHI-SAMA!" dozens of men chorused, backs flat against the walls of the corridors, and bowed in unison. "TSUKARESAMA DESHITA (Thank you for the hard work)!

A charismatic fifty-year old man walked through the path between two rows of men, his eyes sharp, his posture straight, stands of white hair forming streaks in his dark hair and moustaches. "Tadaima (I'm back home)," The boss of the largest Yakuza clan in Japan replied his subordinates, and reached out for his newest Mistress, a fair-skinned Eurasian with chestnut-coloured hair and shapely figure. "That was a tough job…Those Italian mafias…they were very demanding," he sighed. The Mistress crooned at him, and the thugs stepped out to offer massages.

In the midst of all the worshipping, the yakuza boss noticed that one person was absent from the hallway. It was hard to miss his second son – he could spot the boy's pink-haired head from miles away. "Aoyagi," He spoke. All fell silent and gave way to the long-haired man in black suit. "Hai, Oyabun-sama (Yes, boss)?"

"Where is Shigeru?"

"Ano…" Aoyagi took a while before answering, "Shigeru-bocchan is with Harumi-san. They had gone for a trip to Gero."

Hashiguchi raised an eyebrow, as if asking, 'why did he not ask for my permission?'

Aoyagi panicked. "Shigeru-Bocchan had been unwell for 3 days…Harumi-san suggested that Shigeru-Bocchan quickly be temporarily moved to Gero to improve his health…since Gero has fresher air and hot springs…and the Kitagawa clan has control over an inn in Gero…"

"Onsen!" The Mistress squealed and clung to the yakuza boss. "Ne, Hashiguchi-sama…can we go as well?" she pouted, and proposed in a 'plastic' cute voice.

"Mistress," Aoyagi looked torn, "Harumi-san said she intended to…" his cheeks reddened, "take her relationship with Shigeru-Bocchan to the next level…If we disturb them…"

"We'll be discrete!" the bimbo insisted, "Hashiguchi-sama…please…" she caressed his upper arm.

"Very well," the fifty-year old stated, "Aoyagi, prepare the limousine. We'll be going A.S.A.P."

"Yay!" The airhead kissed the yakuza boss on the cheek, "I love you!"

* * *

Harumi's heart stopped beating at the sight of the man who were supposed to be her future father-in-law. "Hashiguchi-sama!" She gasped, before dropping to her knees and knocked her head on the wooden floor in front of his feet, "Welcome to Hinata-Sou."

"Rise, child," the boss responded.

Harumi still couldn't believe her rotten luck. "Hashiguchi-sama, if you have told me earlier I would have asked the chief maid to prepare the best room for you," she lied through her teeth as a lump clogged the base of her throat.

"Well, I didn't want to disturb the blossoming relationship between you and my son…" Hashiguchi coughed at the innuendo, before looking around, "By the way, where's Shigeru? Aoyagi told me about the bug. I hope he's better."

'Think of something, think of something, think!!' Harumi screamed inwardly, as she put up a smile on her face, "Oh, he's definitely better! He's taking a stroll around the city right now." Before the yakuza boss could ask anything more, Harumi led her guests inside the inn. "Hashiguchi-sama, why don't you enjoy the onsen first? The trip here must be tiring…I'll prepare you delicious specialty dishes and the best local entertainment!"

As soon as the man left for the onsen, Harumi tried to call her fiancé repeatedly to warn him, but Kanmuri's cell phone was switched off, and there was no telephone line in her brother's flat. Frustrated, Harumi dedicated all her energy on distracting the yakuza boss for hours on end, serving him cups of sake and providing him with many beautiful women…She was hoping that he would collapse before nightfall so she could make her way back to Tokyo or disappeared from the face of the earth…

However, the Goddess of Fortune wasn't by her side that night. Hashiguchi stayed sober for a long time, and just as the clock struck nine times, the man turned to the brown-eyed girl, and inquired again. "Harumi, it's late. Where is Shigeru?" his expression was serious, a hint of worry in his voice.

The hand that was pouring sake to Hashiguchi's cup stopped still. 'Think of something!' Cold sweat bathed Harumi's temple. "He's…" her voice was misplaced, her mind reeling. "Oh, no! Shigure-san is lost!"

Hashiguchi had noticed that something was amiss. In the first place, Harumi wasn't the type to let Shigeru out of her sight if she wasn't sure he would be safe without her. If Shigeru was really touring around the city, Harumi would have sent the cleverest Kitagawa bodyguards to look after him. There was no doubt about it. "Harumi," the man whispered in a low, dangerous tone, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't lie to me."

All the happy noises made by the thugs Hashiguchi brought to Gero and their women vanished in a second. The temperature of the room seemed to go below zero degree. Everyone watched, breaths held, as Hashiguchi rose slowly, and stood over Harumi's trembling form. "Don't make me ask you again," the man hissed maliciously. "Where is my son?" he paused between each word, dragging the question.

Harumi was silent, her lips glued together. She would not, would never answer it. She would not say a word.

A vein throbbed on the fifty-year-old man's wrinkled temple. "Where is my son, you bitch!" he barked, pulled the girl up by her hair, and backhanded her across the cheek, hard, with a resounding smack, sending her sprawling across the room, her form bouncing off the wall.

"Harumi-sama!" one of the geishas shrieked, "Yuri, Akiko, someone!" she turned to the girls nearest to the door, "Call Yoshida!"

One of the geishas, a petite, pretty young woman, scrambled to her feet, but was stilled by Hashiguchi's deadly glare. "Aoyagi!" the yakuza boss called as he enclosed his hand around Harumi's wrist and dragged her out of the door to the backyard, "Drive the limousine! We're going back to Tokyo!"

The instruction triggered the Hashiguchi yakuza members to a flurry of actions. "Hai, Oyabun-sama!" Aoyagi exclaimed, and within minutes, they had exited the inn, leaving the geishas and Hashiguchi's new Mistress behind.

* * *

"Kawachi-san," a pink-haired, violet-eyed youth called the tanned blonde who was a few years his senior. Said blonde was sitting behind a table, stoning, eyes staring blankly at the wall. Kanmuri took a deep breath. "KAWACHI-SAN!"

"Nan ya de!" The Kansai boy jumped, "Kanmuri-han, odokasun'na (don't shock me)!"

"Demo (but), Kawachi-san," hands full with a basket of leftover breads, Kanmuri pointed at the oven with his chin, "The dinner bread you bake is burning!"

"Eeh?" True enough, the scent of carbon was permeating the air. Kawachi jumped and rushed to open the open. "ITAI (It hurts)! A-atsui (H-hot)!!" He nearly dropped the bread to the floor.

Kanmuri sighed. Kawachi was really a clown.

"Kanmuri-kun!" Azuma called from the stove, "Please bring the leftover breads here!"

"Hai!" the fair-skinned youth replied, and hurried to the stove, where the two sixteen-year-olds would then prepare Japan#56 together.

"Odoroita ne (I'm surprised)," Kanmuri commented, after the preparation was over and he was standing at the back of the store, seeing hordes of people asking for Kabukiage-Japan, "that leftover breads can be highly in demand like this…Azuma-kun is really something."

"Desu ne?" Tsukino entered from the kitchen and smiled. Kanmuri smiled back. Seeing the transformation of leftover bread to Japan#56 inspired Kanmuri to solidify and strengthen his conceptualization of breads so that he too, could invent his own bread.

"Demo, Zannen desu ne (But, it was such a pity)," Tsukino sighed, "that you didn't go to the TV Station to watch the match."

"Daijoubu desu," Kanmuri remarked, "I saw it from the television. It was enough." He opinionated in his heart, 'Of course I can't go to the TV station. I cannot get shot; almost every Hashiguchi and Kitagawa yakuza member knows my face.'

"But, but, but!" the brunette continued, "If the audience saw you, more people could have gone to Minami Tokyo Pantasia!" She put her hands on her waist, "Datte (Because), Kanmuri-kun has a bishounen (pretty boy) appeal!"

"Bi-bishounen appeal?" Kanmuri repeated, aghast. "What?"

Suddenly, a lightly tanned boy with swept back shoulder-length brown hair entered Kanmuri's view. Azuma's face was close to his own, his caramel eyes scrutinizing his features. "Bishounen ne…" the brunet muttered, "Well, you do look pretty," he finally remarked lightheartedly as he leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head.

Kanmuri's heart was beating faster, his pale cheeks painted with the colour of the sky during sunset. 'Why do I…feel nervous?' he asked himself before saying, in a small voice, "T-thank you…"

Tsukino smiled knowingly to herself before touching the pink-haired's boy shoulder lightly. "Kanmuri-kun, can we retreat back to the kitchen? I have a proposal to make."

"Employment?" Kanmuri gasped.

"Yes, employment," Tsukino nodded, "You've been with us for two weeks. I know you told us you're just here to learn how to bake, but you've already known how to bake all the breads we sell in this store. The taste of the breads you bake is also superb. I see no reason why I shouldn't offer you an official employment."

"B-but," it sounded too good to be true, "Won't I be an excess capacity?"

"Not at all," Tsukino retorted right away, "You passed the test Tenchou (the Manager) put you through. That alone should be an indication that he, as a Manager, had accepted you."

Kanmuri looked down at the flour-covered table. "I…"

"Tsukino's right, Kanmuri-kun!" Azuma exclaimed, and grinned, "It was so fun, baking bread with you. Join us!"

The 2nd granddaughter of the founder of Pantasia chain turned to the boy, "So?"

"I'll take it," Kanmuri replied, the gaze on his eyes firm. "Thank you, Tsukino-san, Azuma-kun."

"Now, let's party!" Tsukino changed her attitude abruptly, "we should have a party to welcome Kanmuri-kun!"

"Party! Party!" Azuma gushed, and the both of them did a dance.

"Ano ne!" Kanmuri exclaimed, "The shop!" Even as he tried to bring the two back to a serious mood, he couldn't deny that there was a small smile on his face.

* * *

The two weeks Kanmuri had been in Southern Tokyo Pantasia branch had been heaven for the pink-haired boy. The test the Manager gave him was his favourite. He enjoyed raking his brain to modify the bread he had already known and was extremely satisfied when an entirely different bread of a better taste and quality can be obtained. When he was baking bread, he was able to give all his energy, his concentration, everything he had, to the task and forget everything else.

Not to mention his companions…especially Azuma. He was so brilliant. Knowing practically nothing of western techniques, he still managed to come up with so many delicious breads. His conceptualization was ingenious. Kanmuri didn't think there was any limit for him. He dared venture to things others would have though unthinkable. To be honest, Kanmuri thought himself lucky having been taught by Azuma, and aspired to be like him.

And then, of course there was this foreign emotion…that made him take pleasure in being in his company…

"Kanmuri-kun," as if conjured by his mind, the brunet appeared, "have you finished cleaning up the kitchen?"

"Ato sukoshi (a bit more)," Kanmuri replied as he wiped the top of the tables with a rag, "I'm left with putting out the garbage bag…"

"Tetsudao ja (let me help you)!" Azuma snatched the big black plastic bag and opened the back door.

However, someone else opened the door from the outside faster than Azuma did, knocking the boy on the face, and the boy fell to his butt. "Itee (it hurts)!"

In normal situations, Kanmuri would go to his side and help Azuma up, but the sight that greeted the pink-haired boy caused his blood to curdle.

On the doorway, stood a fifty-year-old man in an obviously expensive black kimono with red intricate dragon embroidered on the sleeves and the back. There was a fierce, predatory expression on his wrinkled face, and his eyes were staring furiously at Kanmuri's own amethyst orbs. The man's right hand was holding on to a girl, whose dark-hair, which seemed to have been cut haggardly with a blunt scissor, covered half of her face; her petite body was covered with black and blue bruises, her split lips dripping blood. The girl struggled to get her wrist off the man, but the man kicked her in the gut. The girl threw her head back in pain, and only then, Kanmuri could recognise the girl.

"HARUMI!" he cried out, and rushed to get to his childhood friend, but was intercepted by Aoyagi and another thug, who held on to his arms and slammed him to the edge of the table, making him double over in pain, tears blurring his sight. "I'm sorry, Bocchan," Aoyagi muttered under his breath.

"Kanmuri-kun!" Azuma got up from his feet and tried to approach the pink-haired boy, but was hoisted up by two yakuza and pinned against the wall.

"Shigeru-san," Harumi gazed at Kanmuri, her eyes beseeching, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry! I didn't. I didn't say anything!" she said frantically.

Instantly, a guilty look passed over Aoyagi's face. Kanmuri gritted his teeth before calming himself down and looked back at his fiancée, mouthing, 'I know.'

"What's with the noise?" a girl's voice yelled, before Tsukino and Kawachi entered the kitchen from the store. Tsukino gasped and her feet gave out under her weight, and Kawachi hurried to catch her before she hit the floor. "Nan ya de?"

Hashiguchi shoved Harumi to his bodyguard for him to hold, before taking a few steps into the pandemonium that was the kitchen. "Shigeru," he hissed, multiple veins pulsing on his forehead, "Can you explain what you are doing here," he pulled his son by the collar and gripped his chin, "in this rat hole, wearing this hideous," he ripped the uniform with his other hand, sending buttons flying all over the place, "clothing?" he spat, his saliva showering Kanmuri's face.

Kanmuri winced. "Chichiue-sama (father)," he breathed weakly, the small of his spine still stinging from the impact against the table.

The yakuza boss wasn't done. "You ran away from home, assisted by this bitch, this lying fox," he nudged at Harumi, who was still struggling. "The only reason I hadn't cut her tongue is because she is the only child of the boss of the Kitagawa yakuza group!"

"Chichiue-sama," Kanmuri tried again, "I want to be a bread artisan."

The whole kitchen was engulfed in silence for a moment, before Hashiguchi bent down, his form shaking.

"Chichiue-sama-"

Kanmuri was interrupted by a loud, roaring laughter. "You? Panshokunin?" There was a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" he raised his arm, and slapped his son on the cheek so hard his head hit the table behind him.

"Kanmuri-kun!" "Shigeru-san!" Azuma shouted simultaneously with Harumi and the two redoubled their efforts to get away. "Teme!" Kawachi left Tsukino, who was able to stand now, and attempted to reach the pink-haired boy, but was halted by a wall of burly men in black suits. "Tsukino!" The blonde Kansai boy turned his head to his employer. "Where the hell is Matsushiro-Tenchou?"

Tsukino bit her lips. "He's with Ryuu-san again…Apparently as he was in China two weeks ago he made another debt…"

"Kuso (shit)!" Kawachi barked, angry at his own helplessness and the circumstances, "He's never here when we need him!"

"You know that I have the intention to make you my successor, don't you?" Hashiguchi growled, his fingers curling around his son's neck. "Don't you?"

Kanmuri's face began to swell, the purple hideous on his pale skin. "Y-yes," he stuttered, blood leaking from the marks on his cheek, caused by his father's rings.

"Then…" he signaled at Aoyagi to hoist his son up. Aoyagi hesitated, but his boss' glare left him with no choice but to comply. He pulled his young master's right hand, laid it flat on the table and held it tightly by the wrist. "You know that running away from home equates betraying the group, don't you?"

Kanmuri's heart leapt to his throat. Knowing his father's intention, now, he began to struggle against the men's grip. "Chichiue-sama!" he looked up at the man that sired him, his eyes pleading.

But Hashiguchi only unsheathed the short sword he pulled out of his kimono, admired how the sharp blade reflected the lighting from the fluorescent lamp, and brought it close to Kanmuri's skin. "I had really been too kind to you," he sighed as the cold metal ghosted over the back of Kanmuri's hand, "I let you study in America. It seemed to have given you the notion that you're able to do as you please," the sword stopped above Kanmuri's pinky. "Now, I should discipline you."

"Hashiguchi-sama!" Harumi sobbed, "Please don't cut Shigeru-san's finger! He's your son!" the pitch of her voice kept on increasing until it broke at the last word.

"No!" Tsukino's green eyes widened. "Yamete kudasai!" the brunette knelt on the floor and begged, "Panshokunin ni totte, te wa ichiban daisetsuna mono desu (For a bread artisan, his hand is his most important thing)!"

"Well, then, I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone, won't I?" the yakuza boss sneered at the proxy-manager, before raising the blade over his head, "Exactly because Shigeru's my son, I must not treat him differently from any other yakuza!"

Harumi managed to force her way out of the thug's grip with a strength she didn't know she possessed. She flung herself to Hashiguchi's back, her hands hanging on to Hashiguchi's arm, the one that was holding the sword. "BITCH!" Hashiguchi spat, and flailed his limbs hard, kicking and elbowing the girl, "Let go of my hand! Let go! Let-"

As though time was frozen, everyone was still when the blade penetrated the brown-eyed girl on the abdomen. They were waiting for something, anything that gave them an indication that what they saw was real.

When blood began to spurt out from Harumi's middle, time flowed again. Tsukino closed her eyes, Kawachi gasped, and Azuma screamed. Horrified, Hashiguchi took a step away from the girl. Wide-eyed, Harumi touched the wound gingerly, disbelief etched on every line of her face, before she coughed more blood, and fell to the ground. Kanmuri let out a sound so animalistic he could barely believe it was human, let alone his own voice, and run to Harumi's side, Aoyagi and the other man letting their hold on the boy loose.

The pink-haired boy placed his fiancée's head on his lap gently. "Shikari shiro (hang on), Harumi," he stated softly and stroked her pain-laced face, which was drenched in cold sweat, before turning to Minami Tokyo Pantasia staff members. "Call ambulance! Hurry!"

Aoyagi approached, his hand hovering above the handle of the sword, but Kanmuri turned his murderous glare on him. "DON'T TAKE THE BLADE OUT!" he shouted with all the air in his lungs, "It'll worsen the blood loss!"

"Ano…" Tsukino, who had recovered from the initial shock, whispered, "There's a hospital 2 blocks away…It may be faster than calling an ambulance…"

Kanmuri attempted to lift Harumi in his slender arms, but he wasn't strong enough. The yakuza members rushed to do the job, but the boy tightened his hold around the wounded girl and barked at them fiercely, "Sawaru na (don't touch her)!"

"Kanmuri-han," Kawachi bent down and stretched his hands out to him, "You can't possibly carry her alone. Let me help."

Kanmuri bit his lower lip in frustration, hating his own weakness, before handing Harumi to the blonde, since he was the only person he trusted who were also strong enough to carry her to the hospital. As soon as he secured her in his arms, Kawachi took off, followed by Tsukino, Aoyagi, and many of the thugs. After that, there were only Azuma, Kanmuri, whose fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, and Hashiguchi.

"Kanmuri-kun," Azuma touched Kanmuri's hands to get them to relax, to no avail. Instead, the pink-haired boy turned to stare at his father from the corner of his eyes, the expression on his face frosty, merciless.

"I-it's her fault!" Hashiguchi pointed at the bloodstain on the tiles, where Harumi was laid. "If she didn't interfere-"

"If anything happens to Harumi…"Kanmuri's voice was soft, but it could suspend the man's shouting. "I will never forgive you."

* * *

Hours passed – Kanmuri didn't know how many; for him, it seemed like an eternity, seconds ticking ten times slower – before the doctor who operated Harumi opened the door to the Emergency Unit in his doctor robes, took off his nose-and-mouth protector, and put up his thumb. "The operation was a success," He informed everyone who was assembled in the corridor – Kanmuri, Kawachi, Azuma, Tsukino, Hashiguchi and dozens of muscular thugs who nearly blocked the passageway – with a smile. "It helped that the blade wasn't taken out. She can be moved to another ward straight away. So please vacate the corridor and refrain from frightening the nurses and other patients."

Kanmuri was really relieved. He was the first to visit Harumi. As he sat on the chair next to the bed, Harumi slept peacefully. The violet-eyed boy smiled. "Yokata (thank goodness)," he whispered, his hand sweeping her haphazard fringe away from her eyes.

As he sat in tranquility, the door was slammed open. Harumi's father, Kitagawa Hajime, the boss of the Kitagawa yakuza group, a tall, well-built forty-five years old man with a slightly dumb look on his defined square face, barged into the room, shouting, "Harumi! My daughter!"

Kanmuri frowned at the man, his point finger in front of his lips. "Shush! Please be quiet," he whispered.

But Kitagawa didn't hear him; as soon as he laid his eyes on his only child, heavily bandaged and lying prone in a hospital bed, he turned livid. "Hashiguchi, you bastard!" he pulled Kanmuri's father into the room by the collar of his kimono, "It was you who wounded her, right? Yoshida told me!" he yelled to Hashiguchi's face.

Tsukino entered the room as well and tried to calm the two yakuza bosses down. "Sir, please keep it down!"

"Shut up! It's between me and this bastard!" Kitagawa bellowed, and raised one fist to punch the other man's face.

"Chichiue-sama!" a female voice cried out. Everyone turned his or her heads to find Harumi sitting up on the bed, her hand clutching her stomach. "Yamete kudasai (please stop)," she breathed heavily.

"Harumi!" Kanmuri ran to her side, "Don't strain yourself! Lie down!" he put a pillow behind her back for her to lean on.

"Chichiue-sama," the girl ignored the advice, "Hashiguchi-sama is not to blame."

The man rushed to the other side of the bed. "Harumi, I know you're kindhearted, but this is a bit too far-"

"No, please listen," her breathing became more laboured, "I am not blind to the yakuza codes; I have known the risks since the beginning."

"Then why are you willing to put your life in the line?" This time, it was Hashiguchi who asked. He approached the bed and stood next to his son.

"Watashi wa shiteru kara (because I know). Shigeru-san no yume, panshokunin ni naritai no yume wa hontou desu kara (Shigeru's dream of becoming a bread artisan is genuine)!" The girl, who was relying solely on her willpower to breathe now, clutched the old man's hand with her own bruised, frail one. "Please give Shigeru-san one chance to achieve his dream!" she forced herself to finish, her form trembling. Kanmuri saw a patch of red seeping out on the bandage around her middle and coerced her to lying down. "Stop speaking! Your wound is opening! Aoyagi, call the nurse!"

"No!" Harumi shook her head adamantly, "I refuse to be treated until Hashiguchi-sama gives Shigeru-san a chance!"

Touched by Harumi's fortitude, Hashiguchi's resolve weakened. "But how do I know that he has the talent?" He inquired, "Shigeru is my son. I don't want him to tread this path and get lost in the way! I can't allow him to be a bread artisan!"

"I have a proposal," Tsukino stepped in calmly. She stood at the end of the bed, Azuma and Kawachi at her left and right side. "I want to make use of this opportunity to inform Kawachi-kun and Azuma-kun of this as well." She raised her hand to show three red coloured cards with a golden 'P' printed on each card, and handed one each to Kawachi, Azuma and Kanmuri.

The three bread artisans inspected the cards. "Tsukino, what's this?" Kawachi asked.

"They're invitations to Pantasia's annual Newcomers' Battle," the green-eyed girl answered.

"Newcomers' Battle?" The three repeated, and stared at the cards seriously.

Tsukino explained, "Pantasia takes in fifty to a hundred bread artisans a year. The Battle is a competition between those artisans to see who the best is. This is a prestigious event that attracts the media's attention, it's being covered every year. The winner stands a chance to win a sum of money, study in France, and be noticed by the public, including many bread stores."

"Naru hodo (I see)," Azuma responded calmly, while Kawachi's eyes turned green with greed. "Whoa! I absolutely have to win this!" he exclaimed spiritedly.

Hashiguchi had his doubts. "It's just a battle between amateurs; what's so special about winning this Battle?"

Tsukino was about to argue, but she was beaten by a male voice coming from the doorway of the room. "That's where you're wrong."

Matsushiro Tenchou stood by the door in his afro glory, his muscles glistening with sweat. Hashiguchi and Kitagawa took one step back. 'That man look really strong,' they commented inwardly.

Tsukino turned and gasped in surprise. "Manager!"

"I returned to Minami Tokyo Pantasia, exhausted and hoping to be greeted by smiles, only to find the whole kitchen in a mess," the tanned, beefy man grumbled as he walked towards the bed, "I thought a burglar had broken in. Apparently, it was something even more dramatic," he gave a long-suffering sigh.

"That's Tenchou's own fault!" Kawachi retorted indignantly, "You weren't there when we needed you!"

"Suman (sorry)," The man said indifferently, aggravating Kawachi's irritation even further. Hair rising like a cat's, he fumed, "That's not the point!"

"Ma, ma (well, well), Kawachi-kun," Tsukino tried to appease Kawachi, "He's here now."

"Winning Pantasia's annual Newcomers' Battle is nothing special, you said?" The manager addressed Hashiguchi. "Nonsense! Newly employed in Pantasia doesn't mean those artisans are amateurs! Some of then have been bread artisans for more than twenty years! The Battle isn't something you look down upon! The winners of this Battle will grow to be highly skilled and renowned bread artisans!"

Tsukino nodded. "Our manager here is the man who can bake the best French bread in Japan. He was the winner of the Newcomers' Battle eleven years ago."

"Hmph!" the manager crossed his arms and basked in pride. Azuma ooh-ed in awe, while Kawachi only snorted. "I'll prove it to you! I'll be this year's winner!"

"If Kanmuri-kun can win this battle," Tsukino said to the pink-haired boy's father, "it means he has the talent, the willpower and the passion to be a bread artisan. It also ensures him a bright future as a bread artisan. You should at least think about it," she tried to convince him.

Everyone in the room was silent as Hashiguchi put his fingers on his chin, a sign that he was considering the offer. After a long, long time, he finally gave a response. "Very well."

"Chichiue-sama," Kanmuri whispered, his eyes staring at the man, happiness fizzling in his chest. A smile spread on Harumi's face.

"Tadashi (but)," Hashiguchi said before everyone danced in elation, dashing the rising hope, "I have a condition. Shigeru must be the 1st winner in this Battle. No other option. Otherwise, he is to return to the Hashiguchi estate, and be my successor." His sharp eyes gazed into his son's levelly.

"B-but," Harumi frowned, "Shigeru-san had just learned how to bake breads two weeks ago! He is severely disadvantaged against those who had been bread artisans for far longer!"

"It's okay, Harumi," Kanmuri stated with confidence, and returned his father's gaze bravely, his amethyst eyes filled with fiery determination. "I accept your condition."

Kawachi, Tsukino, Tenchou and Azuma smiled at each other. "I can't wait," the brown-haired artisan said excitedly.

"Now…" suddenly, Kanmuri's eyes turned warm as he reached for Harumi's hand, "you must agree to being treated. Aoyagi, call the nurse."

"Hai!" the man replied from outside. Kanmuri could hear the sounds of his footsteps becoming softer. "Minna (everyone)," the pale sixteen-year-old said, "Can you please leave us for a while?"

The people complied; they left one by one, Kitagawa giving his daughter a kiss on the top of her head, until there were only the two of them. "What is it?" Harumi asked worriedly, hoping it wasn't something very horrible. She had gone through a tiring fight and she wasn't sure she had enough energy for one more.

Kanmuri didn't answer straight away. He was quiet for a moment, a frown painted between his brows, before finally whispering, "You do realize that if I'm not a yakuza anymore, our engagement may be annulled, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Harumi said, a relieved smile on her face, "Shigeru-san, I thought it's something much worse."

The frown still hadn't disappeared. "It is bad," he insisted, "It means I can't help you achieve your dreams."

Harumi gazed at Kanmuri tenderly. "Shigeru-san…"

"You have done so much to help me!" Kanmuri voice rose, "I want to be able to repay you!"

"Then, win the Battle," her smile widened, "Seeing you achieve your own is enough."

"Harumi-"

"Shigeru-san," Harumi put her finger on his lips, "Hito no negai wa kanaetai nara, taika wa hitsuyo desu (to grant one's wish, there's a payment). Anata no negai kanaeru sono tame ni, anata no ikenie ni naru shikatanai nara, daijoubu desu (If I have to be sacrificed for the sake of making your wish come true, I don't mind)." (A/N: I got this from xxxholic)

"Harumi…" Kanmuri's chest constricted.

"Don't look like that. Smile!" the girl grinned, before her eyelids become too heavy. "I can't stay awake anymore…Oyasuminasai (good night), Shigeru-san."

"Oyasumi," Harumi heard Kanmuri's reply, then everything was black.

TBC

A/N: That was so LONG! I enjoyed writing the drama, though. Review please!


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